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Chocobo's Mysterious Trailer
Square Enix has released a new video of the Wii version of Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon, and it looks a lot like its predecessors, in a good way! This series has a long history, and it's nice to see that this looks like it's going to be a real Mysterious Dungeon game and not some kind of dungeon-themed party minigame fest.The best part of the whole trailer is how cozy the town looks: the little chocobo is seen walking down cobblestone streets, surrounded by butterflies, napping on a dock, playing on a swing set, and even having a nice cup of coffee at a cafe. Of course, this all serves to make it seem more cruel and horrible when he's trapped in a lava-filled dungeon. We laughed.
New video from Chocobo's Dungeon Wii
Gaming site JeuxFrance recently got their hands on a teaser video from the Wii-bound Chocobo's Dungeon: Labyrinth of Forgotten Time. The roguelike dungeon crawler is packed with our feathery friends from the Final Fantasy series and looks as if it will continue the same game style as the PlayStation titles. Among the obligatory cut-scene-laden clips are a few seconds of gameplay, but no hint regarding Wii remote functionality. The video also raises an important question: "How many different ways can the chocobo theme be remixed before it gets old?".
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Sale
Chocobo Tales, Square Enix's Final Fantasy spinoff, made for a great release to pass the Spring months with, but it can be hard for a minigame-filled RPG to elbow its way to the front of a crowd filled with must-have DS titles. If you haven't had a chance to pick up Chocobo Tales yet, maybe Amazon's latest sale will be what finally motivates you. The online shop has slashed $10 off of the game's usual cost, bringing it down to a budget price of $19.99. This bargain ends today though, so quit being lazy about buying it!See also: DS Fanboy Review: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales[Via CAG]
Square Enix mini game service
If the recent barrage of games from Square Enix hasn't sated your appetite for all things chocobo-related, you'll want to be signing up for Game Town, their new mini-game service. The site is currently in beta, with Japanese registration forms. Luckily, IGN has posted a guide on how to sign up with as little fuss as possible. So far there's only a couple of chocobo games to play, but there are a whole bunch of 'coming soon' slots just waiting to be filled. We reckon there's a good chance we'll be seeing mini-games based on new Square Enix titles showing up here over the next few weeks.
A hollow Chocobo head for your beverages
If you're planning to drink some of Suntory's execrable Final Fantasy Potion, you may as well do it in style, by pouring it into an adorable Chocobo-head mug. Or you could skip the Potion and fill the mug with something that you may actually enjoy. It really depends on what's more important to you: flavor or Square Enix product synergy.Now when you sit down on your Chocobo cushion to play some Chocobo Tales, you can have up to 15 ounces of, uh ... if not Potion, how about "choco-late" milk? It's less thematically appropriate, but it's phonetically appropriate, and has the added benefit of being delicious.NCSX is taking preorders for this $18 mug, to ship in July. While you're shopping, check out the other Square Enix preorder of the day: cool Dragon Quest Monsters toys.
Chocobos Wark onto Wii
Why don't scientists show a little more imagination? Genetically engineered Chocobos would solve most of the world's problems in a stroke. Traffic jams would be a thing of the past and all those cute yellow beasties running around would keep everyone way too happy for war or, y'know, other bad stuff.It may be some time before this vision becomes a reality, leaving us with Chocobo's Dungeon: Labyrinth of Forgetting, which is heading to Wii in the not-too-distant future. The Chocobo's Dungeon games feature randomly generated levels, making them a little different every time you play. Details on the new title are pretty thin on the ground at the moment; expect more news at the end of the month.
WoW Moviewatch: World of Final Fantasy
Well, our friends over at WarcraftMovies.com have done it again; this time recreating our favorite MMO with the old-school stylings of Final Fantasy! Watch and enjoy and bask in the retrospective nostalgia. For those that happen to have no idea what the Final Fantasy series is, let me enlighten you. The series began in Japan in 1987 with a turn-based cartridge game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Square. The series is still alive and kicking, having released Final Fantasy 12 just last fall. The classic menu style, music, and Chocobo reference are amazingly funny. I love this video! [Thanks, Kakashisan on Mal'Ganis]
Comparing Square Enix's Japanese and US boxart
In a recent interview with 1UP, Square Enix's marketing communications manager gave us some insight on the process behind adapting Chocobo Tales' packaging for the US. We happen to prefer the Japanese version's modest artwork over North America's chaotic cover, but we understand that the company had a younger audience to appeal to and a different message it needed to convey. We've collected DS covers from Square Enix's Japanese and US releases after the post break for you to compare and decide which one you like best. To its credit, the company hasn't completely mangled its DS boxarts so far (The same can't be said about Nintendo's bastardization of Hotel Dusk's cover). How do you feel about Children of Mana's simplified design? Does Final Fantasy 3's stripped packaging appeal to your western tastes? And do you agree with 1UP that publishers have been doing a better job with dressing their products?
DS Fanboy Review: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is a lot like most modern cartoons that seem to be aimed at the younger set -- you know, Disney and Pixar and Cartoon Network in the after-school hours. Like these cartoons, Chocobo Tales is colorful and simple, with a solid storyline that isn't really anything special. It's fun, but not deep. But also like those cartoons, Chocobo Tales is peppered with hilarious one-liners and jokes that do show off some depth and appeal for an older set of fans. It's definitely cliché to talk about something that appeals to gamers of all ages, but that may well be the best possible description for the latest Final Fantasy spinoff.Also, it's just about the cutest thing ever.
Happy Easter from DS Fanboy!
Whatever sort of day today is for you -- be it holiday, or just another day -- we here at DS Fanboy hope it's a good one! May you rock the house in any games you pick up, and may all your food be tasty. Alright, so we're not so great with the well-wishing, but you get the picture. And speaking of pictures, like this one, we have to ask ... do you ever think about chocobos when you see chicks? We must admit, sometimes the sight of a fluffy yellow chick makes us think, "Aww! Wark!" Happy Easter!
Metareview: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales [update 1]
We've had our eye on Chocobo Tales for quite some time now, watching with fevered anticipation that the spin-off game would provide us with some more entertainment on our handheld system already populated by other highly-entertaining games. Now that the game has hit retail and been reviewed, we can finally see if the full NTSC version is for us. Not that imports aren't our thing, mind you, just we usually steer clear of the Square-Enix titles (lots of text, don'tchaknow).So, what did the critics have to say? Let's check it out: IGN (83/100) doesn't want the presentation to fool you, the game is fun for older gamers: "The game might feel a bit "kiddy" in its focus, what with those great, big, cute Chocobo eyes peeking at you from the box art. But even though the idea might skew young, the product is surprisingly enjoyable for the older crowd." GamePro (80/100) finds the game to be a melting pot of good ideas: "Chocobo Tales is about quick and easy fun. The Crayola art style, pop-up book style graphics and fable stories may make it seem like a kiddie title and technically, it is. However, the game is fun enough that and packed with enough nods to diehard fans that Final Fantasy fans of all ages should give it a look." New York Times (75/100) has issues with the card system: "Tales has a ridiculously cumbersome system in which you can't easily swap one card for another or compare two cards; even finding a particular card in your collection requires a tedious search. The designers would find it challenging to come up with a worse system. This flaw is surprising in a game that is otherwise beautifully designed." The other remaining reviews come from Japanese import copies of the game, so as soon as more reviews of the English NTSC version come in, we'll update the post. In the meantime, discuss!Update: Added the New York Times review.
More Chocobo Tales videos than you can shake a gysahl green at
By the time Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales hits shelves next month, we'll hardly even need to play it! We've already seen several of the minigames in action, and GameVideos has added even more to the collection.And we know, we're not fooling anyone. We're going to play this one until our fingers cramp. That little chocobo is just too cute to resist, and we're helpless when it comes to Final Fantasy.
Kweh! Or, fresh new Chocobo screens
Oh, that little scamp of a Chocobo -- what will he get into next? If these screens are any indication, it looks like he's getting into a giant beanstalk. Considering the upcoming Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is peppered with references from children's stories, that's probably exactly what it is ... but really, how many times do we need to see the beanstalk here? It's all over this latest batch of screens!Check after the jump for selected screens -- only one beanstalk included.
Chocobo Tales breaks out this April
This year's contender for Most Precious Game finally has a release date stateside: Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is slated to hit shelves April 3. Since we are suckers for everything Final Fantasy-related, it's a sure bet that we've already got the date circles in our calendars ... and if you saw all these trailers, you probably want to borrow our marker.
Wark! for new Chocobo Tales trailers
For those of you who've been chomping at the bit for more on this Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales game, look no further. Embedded past the post break is four (count 'em, four!) new trailers for the upcoming title. Each trailer shows off some of the included minigames, as well as that awesome chocobo music we all love to hear! So do yourself a favor and check them out.
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales site updates
The American website for Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (previously known as Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book) has launched, providing us with a better explanation of the game's story, as well as characters. The entire site itself lacks full accessibility at the moment, however Square Enix have been kind enough to grant us some wallpapers and other goodies to tide us over.See also: Chocobo and the magic launch event
WoW Moviewatch: Mount up for Burning Crusade
Is it too late to get excited about spoilers from the Burning Crusade? If you don't want to see what all the mounts to come in Outland look like, don't watch this video. They've got everything, from the flying mounts to the Chocobos sorry, the Cockatrice sorry, the Hawkstrider. Common to epic, Griffon to Nether Drake-- watch at your own spoilery risk. Of course this is clearly on a hacked server (we're not going to see mounts flying around IF, ZG, or TB for a long time), but it's still awesome. I can't wait to get my soon-to-be-created Blood Elf mage to 40, just so I can get me a non-mechanical birdie. WARK!
Wark! Chocobo gets updates
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book is coming to the US in April, just not under that name. For the American release, the game will be retitled Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales. The minisite is pretty bare at the moment, but we'll be keeping an eye out. For now, you'll just have to content yourself with the gameplay video embedded after the jump.
Chocobo and the magic launch event
Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book launched in Japan today and, in full-on Square-Enix fashion, was accompanied by an event in Shinjuku. Consumers were also greeted with this snazzy little pouch as a bonus gift upon purchasing the title. It's said that the final game features over 40 different mini-games and you can bet we will be getting our hands on it should it release stateside.More pictures available after the jump ...See also: More info on Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book Wark! Chocobo coming to the DS Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book gets Japanese date Checking out Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
Japanese release day highlights: 12.14.06
This week, we've left this post a bit late in the (release) day so that we talk in the past tense and tell you how we bought a copy of Motorstorm for ¥5280 (which is about $45 in Digitiser's trademarked Earth Money), and how we can state with some confidence, having played the game for a grand total of 23 minutes, that it is, you know, quite good. And how we can bring you an exclusive Blurry Pic (after the break, courtesy of our Samsung keitai) of the new Blue Dragon... gachapon. And we can use italics in excess because this release day, dear readers, is over. Here are the other big games of the day. Of the day: Earth Defense Force 3 (where's the ant powder?; Xbox 360) Phantasy Star Universe (you're late, Sega; Xbox 360) World Soccer Winning Eleven X (you're late, Konami; Xbox 360) Chocobo to Mahou no Ehon (miraculous yellow chickens; DS) SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters DS (our Neo-Geo Pocket Colour is sent to the old folks' home; DS) Motorstorm (at least 23 minutes' worth of dirty pleasure; PS3) Pokemon Battle Revolution (gotta buy 'em all; Wii)
